Tuesday, May 3, 2011

Almeda "Granny" Riddle.

Folk Singer Almeda Riddle was born in 1898 in Cleburne County, Arkansas. She sang traditional unaccompanied ballads and hymns. Almeda was brought to the public eye very late in her life by John Quincy Wolfe, a professor at Arkansas (now Lyon) College who brought her to the attention of Alan Lomax. Alan at the time was taking over the work of his Father, John in recording and collecting American traditional music. Usually known as Granny Riddle, her music is very haunting. I first heard her singing in the beginning of the movie "Gummo". As far as I know she recorded three records which are very rare today. They are "How Firm A Foundation", "Granny Riddle's songs & ballads", and "Songs and Hymns of the Ozarks". The first two albums have links to downloads of the full albums. I recently acquired the "Songs and Hymns of the Ozarks" LP of the bay of E, and to top it off it is autographed by the women herself. To this date probably my rarest vinyl. You can go to FolkStreams to see the movie "Almeda Riddle - Now Let's Talk About Singing", which tell about her 10 years of fame and touring. I have found a great deal of listening pleasure in the historical music of the Appalachians over the past 6 months. Take a listen and enjoy.